Sew Beary Blessed

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Last night, I measured, counted, and cataloged 61.25 yards of fabric from Goodville Fabric Outlet. Each card has a swatch of the fabric along with the length and width of the fabric. Next, I am going through all of my patterns to make notes on the cards of what patterns may go with which fabrics. :-)

I am finally going to do it!! I'm finally going to have a table at the Wilson Music Promoters Craft fair this year. It is December 1st at Wilson Southern Middle School. I am so excited at all the possibilities. I've been making these for years, but now I'm going to do it on a bigger scale. I will have lots to purchase right there, but also I will do custom orders for personalized ones (with names) or for ones that I run out of. I've finally mastered how to do them quick and easy and pain-free. I am using a sticky-backed stabilizer and a smaller embroidery needle. It's been flawless. I've had so much fun making these! I've got exactly one month until the craft fair, and I plan to stay busy creating more and more ribbons - both samples and ones to purchase at the fair.

It took me well over an hour, but I sorted, measured, cataloged, and folded all the fabric that Hannah and I stuffed into two $1 bags at Goodville Fabric Outlet last week. The grand total was 61.25 yards of gorgeous fashion fabrics!!! I have attached a swatch, along with yardage information onto a card for each piece of fabric. The next step is to go through my pattern stash and figure out what patterns will work with which fabric.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Hannah and I took a little "field trip" to the Goodville Fabric outlet last week. They had a special with all you could stuff in a huge bag for $1. Hannah and I each filled a bag, and this is the result - all folded. We got a huge variety of fabrics - and at least 50-75 yards. One of my projects to keep me busy when we lose electricity during Hurricane Sandy in the next few hours is to measure it all out and catalog it. I also want to match up fabrics with possible patterns. Hannah has many ideas of things she wants me to sew for her as well.

It's been a while since I've blogged. I've been keeping busy though. I embroidered lots of shirts for our Disney trip last month. I made 3 for myself, one for Hannah, one for Timothy, and one for Bridget. They all turned out great, and everyone liked having special Disney shirts on our vacation!! I also made 3 pairs of shorts for myself. The fabric for my shorts came from either one of my auction purchases or my huge $2 bag from Goodville Fabric outlet this past June. It's great to have a stash!!

Currently, I am working on lots and lots of embroidered hair ribbons and dog bandanas for an upcoming craft show at the beginning of December. This will be my first craft show, and I'm really excited about it.

One of thing I am starting is a sewing journal - where I can journal my accomplishments, goals, ideas, etc. How many times do you think of something you want to sew, only to completely forget about it for months. This way, I can keep track of my projects past, present and future.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Yesterday at Obies, I bought the fabric to make Skylar a personalized bandana. Everyone thinks she is a boy - I guess they just think black labs are boys - I don't know. I wanted to make sure that everyone knew she was a girl. I also wanted to dress her up a little for the nursing home Dog Days parade next week. The bandana is reversible and has a casing to slide her collar through. It went together really quickly.

I had no idea what she would think of it, but she hasn't seemed to be bothered by it at all. I think it looks really cute on her! :-)

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Today, I took Timothy (9 years old) on a "date" to Shady Maple Smorgasbord. He's the only one in our family who had not been there, and he's been a bit miffed about it for quite some time. I made a deal with him that I would take him there if he would be good while we visited a fabric store I had learned about at our last smocking guild meeting - Obies Country Store in Goodville, PA.

It's about a 5 minute drive from Shady Maple - just east on Hwy 23. When I arrived, I have to admit that from the outside, I wasn't quite sure what I would find on the inside.

I was totally captivated from the moment I entered the store. There was nice Christian music playing, and fabric stacked from floor to ceiling *everywhere*. It was incredible!!!

There was fabric in every print imaginable. I am so excited about the Disney prints. I plan to go back in a few weeks and stock up on fabric to make things for our Disney trip next month.

There were stairs in the center of the store that led to a little gift shop filled with quilts and other hand-made items.

There were quilting books, barrels of buttons, lots of trims, and even penny candy!

I wish I could have stayed for hours, but Timothy's patience wore thin after about 15 minutes. I will definitely go back and bring Hannah (17 years old) with me. The fabric was gorgeous, the selection was amazing, and the prices were great too - most in the $6.00 range.

Obies has been around for 150 years. It is run by a Christian family who like to share God's love with each and every customer. If you are in the Lancaster County, PA area, this is a must see place. Their address is 1585 Main Street, East Earl, PA. Their phone number is (717) 445-4616.